ABOUT BILL HUGHES

Bill Hughes' passion for photography was ignited at the age of eight, when he first learned how to develop film in his dad's photography studio in Lumberton, North Carolina. His father, who had worked as a freelance photographer for the Associated Press, had settled down to start a family and passed on his love for the craft to his son.

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As a young man, Hughes traveled extensively, working as a musician in a US Navy Band throughout the Far East, and studying music at the University of Oregon and University of Michigan. He worked various odd jobs in the late 60s and 70s, including as a taxi driver in New York City, a musician in off-off Broadway theater, a church organist, and even as a movie extra in Almeria, Spain for "spaghetti westerns".

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However, it was in the 1990s that Hughes' passion for photography was reignited. He began capturing the Latino community in the North End of Springfield, Massachusetts, while studying with photographer Robert Aller at Holyoke Community College. This work later became known as the Pa'lante series, and it was during this time that he was heavily influenced by the late photographer, historian, critic, and writer Ben Lifson, and later by Professor Frank Ward.

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In recent years, Hughes has traveled the world, capturing the essence of different cultures and cities through his lens. He has photographed on the streets of Berlin, Prague, Paris, Athens, the magical Greek island of Hydra, New York City, and Venice Beach, California, where he visits yearly. Each place offers a new perspective and a different way of seeing the world.

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Hughes' work has been displayed in various galleries in the United States, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, Massachusetts, The Arno Maris Gallery, Westfield State University, Boston Science Museum, Boston, Massachusetts and the Danforth Art Museum, Framingham,  Massachusetts. 

Today, Hughes resides with his wife in the town of Montgomery, in Western Massachusetts, where he continues to work in his private studio.